Paris ~ Farmers Markets

Thanks for your sweet comments on the Paris posts. You've motivated me to carry on and I hope you continue to enjoy the adventure via the comfort of your home or even better, that it might possibly encourage you to make plans to travel to the far away places of your dreams.

Today I'm going to share two of our favorite farmers markets. They have a few similarities but are also very different. The first is the Sunday market on Rue Cler. This charming cobblestone pedestrian street is lined with adorable shops, boulangeries, cafes, markets and food purveyors of all sorts of delicacies. To sum it up…come hungry.

This is where I met a lovely elderly woman (probably in her 70's) dressed in her Sunday finest including a pristine mink coat. She was directing me as to where to get a delicious brunch speaking only French. It played out like a scene from a movie…only it was real. I wish I had taken her photo because she was BEAUTIFUL. We stopped at the place she recommended, Cafe Du Marche and had delicious omelets and croissants followed by large cups of cafe creme. Yum. Afterwards, we shopped the markets, picked up a few pastries for later and watched all the lovely French families doing the exact same thing.

Our other favorite was the Raspail Organic Marketlocated between rue de Cherche Midi and rue de Rennes. This is more of an authentic farmers market with the vendors set up under tents lining the street. The Barefoot Contessa shops this market although we didn't bump into her. You can find the best organic produce here. Amazing pears, apples, plums, figs, carrots…such luscious fruits and veggies!

Here is where I fell victim to peer pressure from an adorable French farmer and tried the goose pate…definitely NOT my thing. But the duck was very good and I brought a jar home for The Man. I also bought a set of 12 horn spoons and a few serving pieces from another vendor and I was tempted by the wonderful market baskets in every color in the rainbow.

Looking back through my photos I can see how I was easily enamoured with so many ordinary and utilitarian things like the fruit crates all piled up. I thought they were kind of pretty with their French words and colorful graphics. And I was even charmed by the waxed paper produce bags because it's no secret that I'm such a sucker for cute packaging. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Or in my case, the camera lens.